Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-17
THE ROYAL CASTE.
AN ARiSTOCRACY HOLDING POSI-
TON FAR ABOVE NOBILITY.

The Precedence of Its Members Accom-
panied by the Slavish Respect Once
Mark of Grade.
An occasion like the jubilee brings ont
very sharply the singular social position
of the royal caste of Europe. That caste,
which consists essentially of two families
or clans, all the Catholic and all the Prot
estant royalties being more or less closely
related either 10y marriage or by blood, is
growing numerous, and tends to become
n minute but closely knit aristocracy.
claiming. and i'll certain WAYS securing,
! Position greatly above that of the Euro
pean mobility. The precedence Of its
members, besides being unCunteSted, aS
/ that Of no noble is, is European instead of
local, and is accompanied and, as il We're,
marked, 10y Il deferential and even slaviSh
respect, which was once paid also To the
mobiles, but Is now i'll their case slowly
| | IT perCeptibly dying away. No noble is
now beyond the law, as some of the
princes. nj least-e. L, the heads of the
mediatlZed lamIlieS-undOubtedly are.
CURIOUS MARK OF GRADE
very real one, that on the continent OF
Europe a prince is the only man except
priest who cannot be- compelled To accept
a challenge. He has theoretically no equal
except in his own c1ste. and even imperi-
Gus military opinion acknowledges his ex-
emption. Certain forms too are observed
in receiving and in addressing royalties
which are not maintained for any other
human beings, and they are waited on
even by mobiles rs gentlemen would be
ashamed To wait on the members of any
other class. Though as a rule, not
wealthy, and undistnguished either by
intellectual ability or service To the states
Ia which they belong. they are everywhere
treated rs 1.-The first, and maintain, with
out exciting envy. an eNcluSiveness as
rigid as that of Indian BrahInins or piOus
Jews They marry only among them
selves; they claim and enforce "A special
marriage privilege, which is, i'll fact a
right To have their recognized cunCubines
acknowledged by society; and though the
fortunes some of them possess are dis
tributed with a strange inequality, and
they begin Ia be sOlicitous for wealth, vet
they resist with immovable tenacity what
must be the severe temptation 10 absorb
the great heiresSes of European society.
A Colonna may marry the daughter Of
the greatest of American money makers,
and the derogation is forgiven for the
gain; but the poorest HohenZollcrn or
Bourbon may not stoop 10 the most beauti-
full or accomplished lady of many millions
They begin more and more to associate
only with each other, roaming over
Europe to avoid the tedium of a too CON
tracted social circle; and at all ceremonial
functions they supersede alike the mobiles
and the statesmen. In the arrangements
for the jubilee. for example, the princes"
known and unknown, illustrious and OBJ
scure, We're all alike in front. and the
great mobiles and high placed persOnages
Of the realm, soldiers or statesmen or
diplomats, We're all relegated TO the crowd.
No noble except Lord Lorne appeared in
the procession As an invited guest, and the
except on only made the rule more con-
spicuous.
ROYALTY EVERYWHERE FIRST.
Courts settle rank in Europe, and the
courts unanimously insist that the de
scendauts Of royalty, even if dethroned,
shall count everywhere first. Not only
will the kings not marry. legally at all
events, outside the clan. but they exert a |
steady and effective pressure in favor Of |
restricting all thrones when vacant To the |
clan alone. Nothing can Ice more absurd |
in theory than for a new state like Bel |
GUM or Bulgaria, which needs an organ
iZing chief, a statesman or a soldier, |
to choose prince who may or may |
not be capable of ruling; but the |
statesmen know we'll that if they step out |
side the clan European sympathy will |
be forfeited or, in palmer words. that |
the sovereigns who move armies will |
think they are dealing with dlsagreeable |
upstairs. Bernadotte only kept his |
throne at the price of turning on his own |
he is still regarded as a
traitor-and King Milan, the only mem
Der of an obscure family with recognized |
crown, will probably lose for want Of the |
determined protection that, had he been
born within the caste, would have been
afforded him. That protection was not, |
it is true, granted TO Alexander of Batten
berg; but then, the BattenbergS are hardly |
royal, and protection to him might have
the gravest of all wars. The
he was gone. the BulCarians ey
amined Europe with n microscope TO find
an acceptable prince; but they knew per
fectly well that their choice was re-
stricted to those whom the sovereigns re-
Cognize rs socially their equals.
1t is that recognition, not birth alone,
which gives the princely caste its unique
and almost inexplicable place in Europe;
and as long as that recognition continues
SO long will that place he maintained. In
other words, the social privilege of the
princely caste will probably endure as
long as the great monarchieS-a period
which may be ages, or may, in spite of ap-
pearances, be shortened To decades